Scott,
My sources in Michigan tell me that Prop E did in fact pass through the House yesterday. It now goes back to the Senate for ratification, since the Senate passed it last Thursday. Senate tried to tie compacts into the Prop E deal like you said, using something called "Immediate Effect," but it didn't get tied on. The reason being that some senators were afraid that if they tied the compacting issues to the Prop E deal, then due to the fact that the legislature adjourns tomorrow, every Senator in the state would try to attach his own little pet project onto Prop E. The good news is though that Prop E appears to be out of the way.
My sources also tell me that there is a good chance the session will be extended, as none of the budget issues have been addressed yet. Which is a big problem, since the K-12 school's fiscal year began yesterday, so they are operating without a budget, so chances are pretty good that the session will be extended. My source said that they would probably work through the weekend to get everything done. Said something about Legislators Gast and McManus "issuing challenges", in regards to the compacting issue. I had no idea what he meant by that, maybe you can shed some light on it for me. He also said that some anti-Indian legislators are a bit concerned about the fact that should the compacting issue not be addressed b4 the session ends, that they know the 4 tribes would be making a beeline to the Dept of Interior, and that they may want to ratify the compacts, as they might not like what the DOI and Bruce Babbitt come back with, especially in light of the letter Babbitt's guys sent the State of Indiana regarding the Pokagons a few weeks ago. By that, I mean that passing the compacting issue would be the "lesser of two evils." If DOI comes back and issues approval without a compact, the state is screwed.
So it looks like its gonna be nip-and-tuck in the next 24 to 48 hours. Let me know if you're hearing anything new.
Gary |
